Airbus reveals concepts of zero-emission plane; may enter service by 2035
Airbus on Monday revealed concepts of new hydrogen-powered zero-emission commercial aircraft that could enter service by 2035.
“The three concepts – all codenamed ZEROe – for a first climate neutral zero-emission commercial aircraft include a turbofan design (with capacity of 120-200 passengers) with a range of 2,000+ nautical miles,” said a press release by the aircraft manufacturer.
The turbofan design would be capable of operating trans-continentally and would be powered by a modified gas-turbine engine running on hydrogen, rather than jet fuel, through combustion, it stated.
At a press briefing, Airbus India president Remi Maillard told reporters that, “we believe that hydrogen will increasingly become more cost-competitive in the future, because other industries, and not just aviation, will move towards hydrogen power sources”.
